


Why Does She Let Him Stay?

by OverlyCheerfulRat



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Brain Damage, Disabled Character, Friendship, Gen, Gil is a ray of sunshine, Past Child Abuse, Protective Uma (Disney)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-03 02:45:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15809736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCheerfulRat/pseuds/OverlyCheerfulRat
Summary: Uma has been protecting Harry since they were both children, and she'll kill anyone who asks why.





	1. Chapter 1

She found him on the street outside her mother’s shop. 

“What’s your name?”

He looked up at her, but didn’t say anything. He knew not to talk.

“I asked you a question!”

She raised her voice angrily. Didn’t this boy know it was rude to ignore people?

“Answer me, or I’ll-!”

He put his hands over his ears and hid his face. She was too loud.

“Fine. My mama will make you talk!”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, pulling into the shop.

“MAMA!”

He put his thumb in his mouth and looked around, wide-eyed. 

“I found him near the door, and he won’t talk to me. Make him talk!”

She pushed the boy forward, and her mother grabbed his shoulders, tilted his head back, snapped her fingers in his face. 

“My mama’s the most powerful villain on the Isle! She’s a sea witch. I bet your parents wish they were half as evil as her!”

He didn’t have parents, he only had his father. But this shop was nicer than his father’s apartment, a lot bigger and not as dirty. 

“Why won’t he talk?”

She watched her mother poke and prod at the boy, then took his arm again when he was shoved back to her. 

“Mama said I should put you back. She said you’re stupid.”

He knew that. His father told him that a lot. But it was cold outside, and loud. He grabbed her arm and whined around his thumb, shaking his head.

“Relax. She didn’t say I had to get rid of you. I’ma keep you so you can help with my chores.”


	2. Chapter 2

Gil had never asked Uma why she tolerated Harry following her around like a puppy. He had seen what happened to those who did- they were either banned from her ship or, more often, killed on the spot. Ursula’s daughter didn’t fuck around. He had wondered on occasion, of course- this was the Isle, it was unheard of to protect someone out of the goodness of your heart. Most people assumed she had some ulterior motive for keeping him with her, but Gil didn’t think so. She was nice to him, genuinely nice, in a way you almost never saw on the Isle. Uma had told him how she met Harry, and Gil thought it was a sweet story, not that he’d ever tell her that.

“He was just sitting in the street, all curled up, and it was cold out. I got pissed cause he wouldn’t answer me, so I brought him in to see my mom. Figured she could make him talk. And she couldn’t, so we just stood there while she tried to figure him out. Wasn’t long before she told me to put him back where I found him, said he was useless, but I let him stay. Wanted some help with my chores and all that. I just ended up adopting him, sort of.” Uma was always quick to add that she only wanted him to do things she considered beneath her, that he was really just a slave, but Gil had seen the way she treated Harry when no one else was around.

Gaston’s son had only been part of Uma’s crew for a month or so when he walked into the kitchen by mistake on his way to the bathroom. Uma and Harry were sitting on the counter, their backs to the door, and Uma was gently bandaging his wrist. “You gotta be more careful, okay?” “Uh-huh.” “Seriously, Harry. If you get an infection, there’s nothing we can do.” She finished with the bandage, then pulled his other hand away from his mouth. “Don’t suck your thumb, we’ve talked about this. Haven’t we talked about this?” “Uh-huh.” “And what did I say?” “T-t-too ol-old,” Harry stammered. He reached to play with Uma’s hair, then hesitated and looked at her for approval. “That’s right. Yes, go ahead.” Gil watched Harry play with Uma’s braids for a minute, then turned to leave.

After that, he started watching those two closer. Harry followed Uma everywhere she went and hung on her every word, while Uma generally acted as his caretaker and patted his head when she was happy. Gil thought it was sweet to see a kid from the Isle caring for someone openly, but everyone else was confused or annoyed. “Can you believe she takes care of that… that retard?” “I don’t understand why. He’s nothing but a liability.” “I can see why Hook threw him away. Sixteen years old and he can’t do anything without her help.” “You’ve gotta admit it’s funny, watching him trot after her.” “She has to protect him when she gets into fights, you know. He weighs her down.” “That freak doesn’t belong here. Uma had better keep a close eye on him, because he can’t defend himself for shit.” 

No one was more confused by their arrangement than Ursula. She frowned whenever Harry followed Uma into the shop, and only seemed to accept his presence because he helped clean. At first, she had let Harry sleep on a cot in Uma’s room, but as they got older she made him sleep in the kitchen. That decision had prompted quite an argument between her and Uma. “You’re both teenagers now, darling. I can’t allow you to share a room with a boy.” “Mother, please. We’re not gonna fuck.” “People will talk.” “Since when do you care about that?” Ursula had sighed and rubbed her forehead. They were whisper-shouting in the kitchen, Harry sitting on the floor several feet away. Uma had given him a toy to distract him; it was a tiny doll she had made out of rags years ago and stuffed with rice. She kept it in her pocket and let Harry play with it when no one else was around. They both glanced over at the boy, then resumed their argument. “See? He’s like a little kid,” Uma hissed. “That doesn’t matter. He either sleeps in the kitchen or on the street. End of story!” 

Harry didn’t seem to mind the change at first, but when he realized that it meant no longer staying with Uma, he tried to protest. “W-wan’ u-u-up with… w-w-... Uma, r-room.” Ursula glared at him. “You’re lucky I let her keep you. Stay here or you’ll be out on the streets, understand?” Harry nodded quickly. He knew Ursula really would throw him outside, and he hated it out there. It was dangerous. Once, he got separated from Uma in the market, and a man grabbed his arm with a sneer. “Hook’s boy, right? And you’re slow… that’s good, my customers like innocence. Come with me, I’ll give you a treat.” Harry didn’t like the way he said it, but before anything happened, Uma ran up and grabbed him. 

“He’s mine. You understand? Nobody touches this one.”


End file.
